'Proof of concept' for multi-point entry

69/11
27 September 2011
MPA briefing paper 69/2011

This briefing paper has been prepared to inform members and staff. It is not a committee report and no decisions are required.

Background

When he commissioned the Race and Faith Inquiry, the Mayor of London said “Clearly the issues of race and discrimination in the Metropolitan Police must be examined. That is why I have asked Cindy Butts to look at some key questions, such as the progression of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) candidates through the ranks of the service, the relation between staff associations and management, and the extent to which there is visible and effective leadership around race and faith issues.” The Inquiry report and its recommendations remain a Mayoral priority.

What is multi-point entry?

In essence, multi-point entry normally operates in different ways in different organisations, but is a means of ‘fast tracking’ candidates to a middle or senior ranking position in an organisation by virtue of education, training, experiential learning, etc. This may mean entry at a single point of entry above the normal entry level or entry at a number of different levels within an organisation or ‘grade skipping’. In the MPS, multi-point entry for police staff has operated for many years and there are large numbers of such staff with particular skills and expertise that have entered at a very senior level. This report is concerned with police officers.

Benefits of multi-point entry

The Inquiry considered that multi point entry could bring a wide range of benefits to the MPS and policing in general, which go far beyond increasing diversity at middle and senior police ranks. It could:

• enhance the MPS’s ability to attract the brightest and the best individuals;
• improve the culture of the organisation;
• directly benefit from the particular skills and experiences which those wanting to embark on a second career in the MPS would bring; and
• allow the MPS to better position itself within an increasingly competitive London labour market.

Diversity projections

Dealing specifically with police officers, the Met’s projections suggest that over the next ten-years, whilst BME officer representation is likely to increase substantially in the junior ranks, the BME officer representation amongst senior ranks (i.e. chief superintendent and higher) may not improve at all without some form of intervention. Such as multi-point entry.
The projections for female progression appear to be very positive. However, the relatively low increase in female representation within the superintending ranks reveals a potential longer-term risk for female representation within chief superintendent and ACPO ranks. Arguably there needs to be some radical intervention in the form of multi-point entry to stimulate greater representation at middle and senior ranks for women and BME police officers.

The way forward

There would clearly be cultural and confidence issues within the police service when introducing any multi-point entry scheme, but the issues are not seen as insuperable and could include, for example, the aggressive targeting of high quality BME graduates. In terms of ensuring diversity, the opportunity for subsequently appointing or ‘fast tracking’ under-represented groups could be the subject of some specific positive action initiatives. In addition, within the MPS, the Leadership Academy’s Hydra Suite has been used over many years to provide scenario based training on all aspects of policing, including critical incidents, and would be ideally suited for multi-point entry programmes to provide experiential learning.

Different approaches

There are three possible models which could be considered, none of which are mutually exclusive. In all three options the expectation is that there would be a rigorous external assessment process both for entry to the scheme and as part of the continuing assessment process:

1. An ‘in house’ version based upon existing programmes with access to the other two models;
2. A ‘direct entry’ version based upon specialist skills with entry at superintending rank; and
3. A ‘rank’ skipping option designed to provide intensive learning and experience at three critical levels – constable, Inspector and Borough Commander – the first two within the first two years of service.

The independent review of remuneration and conditions for police officers and staff (the Winsor Review) is due to complete the second part of its report in January 2012. This will include, amongst other things, recommendations on the issue of multi-point entry. Consequently, any move towards some form of multi-point entry is unlikely to appear until after the Olympic and Paralympics.

An interim step would be to give an opportunity to trial a new approach before then by combining elements of Option 1 and Option 2. This would be a ‘proof of concept’ exercise.

Rationale

There are significant changes in other parts of the public sector, e.g. United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Security Services etc which will impact upon promotion and career development opportunities, as well as reducing overall numbers. Given this context it should be possible to establish the requirements for performance at senior levels in the MPS in roles requiring specialist, but arguably transferable skills.

Having done so, it should be possible to identify internal staff from existing ‘talent’ programmes in the MPS and staff from UKBA, HMRC, etc who may be looking for new career opportunities and to trial an independent assessment process for these two groups of staff. Ideally this would comprise a range of different evaluation ‘tools,’ e.g.:

• Executive search
• Psychometric assessment
• Competency based selection
• Structured interviews
• Career coaching and mentoring

to identify external staff with the ability to perform senior, specialist roles in the police service. The results from the ‘internal’ and ‘external’ groups could then be benchmarked against one another to assess the suitability of the process, without any formal commitment to selection to a substantive senior post. This will benefit both internal and external candidates by providing an invaluable learning experience for future job applications.

Next steps

In order to ensure that this approach is operationally sound, the ‘proof of concept’ should be overseen by small joint MPS/MPA team chaired by an MPS officer at a very senior level to take responsibility for ensuring that the assessment process meets its objectives, has clear authority and that the context, including risks, is actively managed. Given the delay in delivering part two of the Winsor Review, the likely organisational changes post Olympics and the anecdotal evidence which suggests there will a significant exodus of officers – particularly senior officers - from the service at the same time the next 12 months will be an ideal opportunity to explore this issue in the way suggested.

Specific questions raised by CEP members:

How we are dealing with the lack of enthusiasm for multi-point entry within (parts of) the MPS and indeed amongst ACPO ranks?

ACPO have also previously argued a single entry point for all applicants prevents large sections of the community from applying to the police: “The police service has inflexible recruitment practices preventing direct entry into higher levels or specialised areas regardless of proven skills and expertise. Such structures and inflexible pension provisions consequently focus police constable recruitment on the pool of people with potential rather than attracting a significant proportion with proven skills and knowledge. The service currently recruits, trains and rewards all recruits alike, whether they are mature, highly paid, skilled and experienced fraud investigators or community development managers, or a 19 year old school leaver. Two year probationary periods and residential training courses create further barriers to recruiting significant proportions of the community.” They appear to have changed their position.

There are mixed views around this at ACPO level in the Met and elsewhere, but there is also significant support from the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, and Chief Constables such as Peter Fahy (Greater Manchester), Steve Otter (Devon and Cornwall) and Nick Gargan (National Police Improvement Agency.) Outside of the police service, the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Policing Minister have all spoken in recent weeks about their support for exploring the concept of direct entry.

At a recent meeting with Kit Malthouse, the Met Superintendents’ Association noted how during the recent disturbances “the removal of micro-management and intrusive supervision from ACPO colleagues had not adversely impacted upon the service’s operational performance” which would suggest the strategic role of an ACPO officer does not necessarily require an ‘operational’ element.

Once the second part of the Winsor Review is published, there will be national negotiations between the Official Side and the Staff Side of Police Negotiating Board (PNB). If they fail to reach agreement, the matter will be referred to the Police Arbitration Tribunal, who will make their recommendations to the Home Secretary. The Home Secretary can accept or reject their recommendations.

How the joint governance arrangements will work?

In order to ensure that this ‘proof of concept’ approach is operationally sound, the intention is that it will be overseen by small joint MPS/MPA team chaired by an MPS officer at Management Board level to take responsibility for ensuring that the assessment process meets its objectives, has clear authority and that the context, including risks, is actively managed. The joint governance arrangements have not been finalised, but the intention is to keep the working group very small

From the Met, this might include Tamsyn Heritage (HR Career Management Team), Joanna Young (Superintendents’ Association), an ACPO Management Board Chair only and a senior consultant jointly appointed to run the assessment process. The terms of reference would need to be agreed, but the aim would be to report back on the ‘proof of concept’ in January 2012 to inform national deliberations on the Winsor Review.

Why is the pilot is being limited to specialist areas? Which specialist areas will be included and why?

Realistically it would be difficult to test more generic multi-point entry options at this stage since the requirement would be for a much broader range of skills which may require a degree of preparation and learning. Specialist areas that could be tested include financial investigation, asset recovery / confiscation, kidnap and specialist investigation, major investigation, professional standards, intelligence, child abuse, computer crime, etc.

However, at the moment the demands for greater specialisation in a range of disciplines throughout the police service are growing. As a result there is a smaller pool from which to draw and a need to attract, identify, develop, deploy and engage specialists in order to have the skills the police service needs. For the MPS there is a greater demand to get the skills mix right given the challenges faced by policing in London and the commitment to reflect the needs and diversity of London’s communities.

This leaves the police service facing a hidden challenge, and highly vulnerable if key roles are not filled or key individuals retained. What will be the cost both in terms of service delivery and in trying to find or replace these individuals? This has enormous implications for Specialist Operations and Specialist Crime Directorates. Whilst the police service provides some challenging areas of work, there is a growing reliance upon having the right people with the right skills and knowledge in place.

The lack of specialist skills is likely to become more acute post the London Olympics and Paralympics as officers with such experience find more lucrative employment outside the police service. This can be tackled through new entry routes and career paths for those with non-policing experience; whilst police officers have the flexibility to respond to all kinds of emergencies, judging what needs to be done and imposing solutions, arguably in order to deliver a modernised police service there needs to be a greater degree of flexibility to appoint suitably trained, experience or qualified police officers at above entry level to address the ever changing needs of policing and the communities policing serves.

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